Four Believers From Birobidzhan Received From 3.5 to 7 Years in Prison for Reading and Discussing the Bible

On December 19, 2022, Judge Yana Vladimirova of the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region rendered the following harsh sentences because of religion—Dmitriy Zagulin received 3.5 years in prison, Alam Aliyev recieved 6.5 years in prison, and Sergey Shulyarenko and Valeriy Kriger received 7 years in prison for supposedly organizing and financing extremist activity.

The investigation and trial lasted an unprecedented 4.5 years. The trial itself lasted over 2 years. The prosecutor requested that the believers be punished with 4 to 9 years in prison.

On May 17, 2018, a large-scale operation code-named "Judgment Day" was conducted by 150 security officials in Birobidzhan. During this raid, Alam Aliyev was detained. A criminal case was initiated against him because of his religion, and he spent 8 days in a pre-trial detention center. Later, three more believers were included in Aliyev's case.

Dmitriy Zagulin recalled: “After the searches that took place in our city, at first it was difficult to get used to the idea that we now live in a different reality.” On November 2021, Dmitriy was fired from his job because of the trial.

Sergey Shulyarenko talked about his family's reaction to the criminal case against him: "My relatives believe that the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is some kind of misunderstanding." He also noted that despite the persecution, believers "try to come to the courthouse in order to support each other, to assure those who have hearings on that day of their love."

Alam Aliev compared the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in modern Russia with their persecution in the Soviet Union. “If I am considered an extremist, then how many years will I have to wait to be rehabilitated?” the believer asked the court.

During the closing statement, Valeriy Kriger emphasized: “I am determined to continue to do good deeds and to display impartiality to all people, regardless of their nationality, social status and religious affiliation.”

In total, 23 Jehovah's Witnesses in the region have already been prosecuted for their beliefs. Among them are the wife of Alam Aliyev—Svetlana Monis;the wife of Valery Krieger—Nataliya Krieger; and the wife of Dmitriy Zagulin—Tatyana Zagulina.

In its judgment of June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights fully justified Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, stating: “The Court reiterates that only religious statements and actions involving or calling for violence, hatred or discrimination may warrant suppression as being 'extremist' […] The courts did not identify any word, deed or action by the applicants which would be motivated or tainted by violence, hatred or discrimination against others.” (§ 271).